


muse

by tigerchild



Category: Harry Styles - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, M/M, NYC, New York City, larry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 16:45:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerchild/pseuds/tigerchild
Summary: "what are you looking for?" harry asked confusedly.he smiled "my muse." he answered."lou" he said, "what is it?"he smiled once again. "you.""oh."---------WeHeartIt Inspo Board: https://weheartit.com/mytigerchild/collections/148148055-muse-story





	1. starving artist

louis had been struggling for months, although he did not like to admit it. he did not want his father to be right about him. that he would starve as an artist. although, here he was, without a reliable source of income, and with nothing in his fridge. he was becoming a stereotype, and he didn't like it.

there was a farmers market in one of the small parks this morning that louis was planning to go to to sell his art. he hadn't had much luck recently, mostly because the quality of his art had declined. he had not been able to afford quality paints.

louis packed up his multiple canvases, and made his way to the metro. the streets were packed, as usual, but the trip was always worth it. if he hadn't sold any of his art, he could rely on the old woman that had a stand across from his to provide him with produce to last him another week.

once he had reached the farmers market, louis rented a table and began to display his canvases on it. now began the wait.

after about an hour or so, a boy walked up to his booth.

"good morning sir, how are you?"

sir? no one had ever called louis that before.

"i'm doing alright, how about yourself?" he replied with a smile, attempting to be polite. the boy was dressed rather nicely, in a green button up that matched the color of his eyes.

"i'm great, thanks." the boy continued to browse louis' art work. he crossed his fingers behind his back. please please please

"where did you come up with the inspiration for this piece?" he questioned, pointing to one of louis' favorite pieces. it was an oil painting that depicted a blue-green sea with huge jutting rocks on either side. a lone rowboat sat in the middle of the rugged waves, with a single silhouette inside of it.

"honestly?" he asked the boy.

"honestly."

"in a dream."

"hmm"

"i knew you'd think it was weird." louis sighed.

"it's not weird, just...interesting i guess."

there were a few moments of silence.

"how much for this one of the sea and this watercolor painting?" he asked, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

cha-ching

"would twenty dollars for both of them sound good?"

"take thirty five. these will be perfect for my friend's birthday coming up." he replied, handing him the money.

"thanks so much." he said taking the money and smiling. "are you going to college around here?"

"oh yes, i'm in the pre-law program at a university in manhattan. i'm harry by the way." he said, holding out his hand for louis to shake.

"louis." he said, taking harry's hand and shaking it.

"well, louis, maybe i'll see you around sometime."

"y-yeah that would be great."

louis felt like he had just been run over by a train.


	2. in his art

the next week, louis was on his way back to the market. in the back of his mind, he hoped he'd be able to even catch a glimpse of harry, but he doubted it. what was the chance? furthermore, what was the chance that harry would want to buy another one of his paintings? 

louis couldn't seem to get harry out of his mind. every step of every day, he was there. louis couldn't help but replay their conversation over and over again in his head. he should've asked for his number, asked for a coffee date, something. new york was a gigantic city, he'd never see harry again. he only knew a handful of things about harry, and maybe it would be best if he kept track.

louis took out his small sketchbook, and turned to a blank page. there were only a few left. harry, he wrote at the top of the page. underneath he listed: 

green eyes

pre-law somewhere in manhattan

generous

this wasn't the first time that harry had found his way into louis' sketchbook. he had somehow started showing up in louis paintings, in small, subtle ways. louis had almost ran out of green paints, and he had almost--without realizing it--painted a portrait of harry. he had left that painting at home of course. 

\--

louis had sold more paintings than usual, and he didn't find out why until the fourth well-dressed student bought a painting from him.

"after my friend harry bought a painting to give to our friend leo, I knew I needed to get one for myself!" the girl had babbled. 

"oh-oh really?" louis tried to keep his voice steady.

"oh harry had nothing but good things to say about your art. he said you're so talented, and I see that even clearer now."

an enormous grin found its way to louis' face. the girl had bought one of the many paintings with a green color scheme, depicting ocean waves and sea foam. 

another hour had gone by, and louis had found himself out of things to sell. this had never happened before. each student that came by bought at least one or two paintings, usually offering more than he asked for them. he couldn't believe it. 

the only thing that could make this day better was a visit from harry. although it seemed unlikely at this point. louis packed up his things, which took a matter of minutes considering he had no pieces to bring back. 

he stopped by the fruit and vegetable stand across from his, where the lady was already waiting with a bag of louis' favorites. for the first time in weeks, louis had enough money to pay the kind lady.

she tried to refuse.

"no, really. I sold all of my work today! please take it," he explained to her. shaking her head, she took the money out of louis hands.

he waved goodbye to her, returned his table, and got back on the subway, his heart full of gratitude towards harry.


	3. framed with a smile

louis could have recognized those curls anywhere.

there he was, on the 8am subway to his shitty job, when he spotted them, getting on in front of him. louis stopped in his tracks, as his breath hitched in his throat, almost causing him to get trapped in the doors shutting. this commotion he caused, made the boy look up.

harry's face was framed with a smile.

"louis!"

"uh oh hey harry how've you been?" louis said, attempting to downplay his excitement.

"been quite busy lately to be honest, midterms are coming up, and i'm almost positive I'm going to end up failing my political science class, so I'm trying to actually go for once, that's why I'm up this early."

"oh wow. where do you go to school?"

"columbia" jesus christ. if louis had ever had doubts about the possibility of him and harry, it was now. they could not be more different.

"not sure all this stress is worth the 'prestige'" harry said, making air-quotes with his hands.

louis forced himself to laugh.

"anyways, how've you been. still working on your art? i'm hoping I'll have time to stop by soon, but with my schedule I honestly don't know when the next saturday will be that I'm not working on a paper or studying for an exam," harry said with a frown on his face.

"don't worry about it. your friends have made a habit of stopping by in your absence anyways. there's been a couple of days that I've come home without any paintings thanks to them," louis, said, smiling.

"that's great. they always stop by my dorm to interrupt my studying when they come back with one."

louis let out a small laugh "sorry about that."

"why would you apologize? it's a welcome distraction for sure. you're so talented i don't know how you do it."

louis wasn't quite sure how to respond to such a compliment from harry. "well, thank you," he said, playing with his hair.

ask for his number, you idiot

"well, this is my stop, pray for me to stay awake through this eight am."

"will do," louis responded.

"i'll see you around, i guess" harry said waving a goodbye, and making his way out of the doors.

before he knew it, louis' feet were taking him out of the train as well.

harry noticed him getting off as well, saying "oh, is this your stop as well?"

"yes-I mean, no I" louis fumbled his words, his face growing redder and redder.

"I was wondering if you'd like to get coffee sometime? i could show you some of the art i've been working on, and maybe i could help you with your political science class, it was my favorite subject in highschool." louis took a deep breath after his lengthy proposal.

for a second, harry was motionless, frozen. then, his mouth opened into a big smile, and wrinkles found themselves around his eyes.

"of course, that would be great. i could sure use some help before my final. whats your phone number?"

the boys exchanged phones, each putting their names and numbers into eachothers.

"well, i'll see you around, goodbye for real this time," harry said, and with a wave, he was making his way down the stairs of the platform.

louis would have to wait for the next train to take him to work, but he didn't mind much. he had finally done it.

finally on his way to work, louis pulled out his notebook once again

 

pre-law at columbia

bad at poly sci

not a morning person

 

he wrote, and put away his notebook with a smile. somehow, the sun seemed to shine brighter this morning.


End file.
